‘Absolutely, completely false': Rob Ford fires back at Sarah Thomson after she alleges he ‘grabbed her ass’

Rob Ford fires back at Sarah Thomson

Mayor Rob Ford is firing back at Sarah Thomson, saying “disgusting” allegations she made that he grabbed her buttocks at a function in downtown Toronto are “absolutely, completely false.”

“What is more surprising is that a woman who has aspired to be a civic leader would cry wolf on a day where we should be celebrating women across the globe,” Mayor Ford said in a statement released Friday afternoon, referring to the fact that it is International Women’s Day.

“This is a day we should all take the time to reflect upon the women in our lives and in our society. It is a day when we can envision the changes we want to make in our communities to ensure that all people are equal and that violence and discrimination against women comes to an end.”

The alleged incident happened during the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee Action Party on Bay Street Thursday night.

Ms. Thomson, who took to Facebook to publicize what happened, says her interaction with the mayor began friendly enough. She asked him why he did not attend a round table she hosted recently.

“He said oh, ‘I was in Florida, you should have been with me, my wife wasn’t there.’ And I kinda did a double take because usually Mayor Ford is professional, he’s a gentleman, and he doesn’t act that way,” she told reporters outside city hall, in between various media interviews. “So, I kinda did a double take and someone said get a picture, so we got a picture, and he put his hand down and grabbed my ass. It was just so offensive.”

Carmine Perrelli, who represents Richmond Hill’s Ward 2, said Ms. Thomson told him and a group of people at the event about the mayor grabbing her. But he said Ms. Thomson has left out the part when she talked about returning to the mayor and trying to get a photo of his hand coming into contact with her friend or assistant’s derriere.

“She said I’m going to set him up and I’m going to use the pictures against him in the next election because I’m going to be the Mayor of Toronto,” said Mr. Perrelli.

Councillor Greg Beros, another Richmond Hill city councillor, said he also heard Ms. Thomson discuss a plan to go upstairs and stage a photo. “I said Sarah, I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” said Mr. Beros. Ms. Thomson was not immediately available to respond.

Both Richmond Hill councillors said they did not see the mayor drinking alcohol and said he hardly moved from a corner, where a steady stream of people approached him to take photos.

In the earlier interview, Ms. Thomson said she thought the mayor might have a substance abuse problem, but later Friday she recanted that description. “I have no idea what he was on. I have no idea whether he was drunk, whether he was sober but he was not the Rob Ford we all know,” she said.

Mr. Ford’s Chief of Staff, Mark Towhey, told Newstalk 1010 that the Mayor had not had anything to drink that night except “three or four glasses of water.”

“I know that the three staff never heard any of the comments that she’s alleged,” Mr. Towhey told Newstalk. “I know that the mayor was in Florida with his wife and children last week and I know I was about 20 feet away watching most of this happening during the evening.”

He also told Newstalk they were seeking legal counsel on the matter.

Ms. Thomson said she does not plan to press charges, but she wants the mayor to apologize for his actions.

“This being International Women’s Day, I could just sit quietly and accept that. As a woman growing up, I had to deal with a lot of that, and I started the Women’s Post Magazine to really confront that so I just couldn’t let it go,” she said.

“I’ve taken a lot of flak for it, and it’s hard for women to do this, and I understand how hard it can be, and you know, I’ve dealt with that before and saying this shouldn’t happen. When you have a working relationship with somebody, they shouldn’t be able to do that. Just because you’re at a party, doesn’t mean you can act that way against another woman.”

She insisted this has nothing to do with politics. “I have no gain out of this. If anything [people] will probably think, oh she overreacted, whatever. That will happen, and that does happen around issues around sexual assault.”